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Abstract #2397

Effects of Desipramine Pretreatment on Behavioral and Regional Neurochemical Responses in the Mouse Forced Swimming Test: A High Resolution in Vivo 1H-MRS Study at 9.4 Tesla

Sang-Young Kim1,2, Chi-Bong Choi3, Yun-Jung Lee4, Hyeonjin Kim4, Do-Wan Lee1,2, Dong-Cheol Woo1,2, Jeong-Ho Chae5, Bo-Young Choe1,2

1Department of Biomedical Engineering, The Catholic University of Korea, Seoul, Korea, Republic of; 2Research Institute of Biomedical Engineering, Seoul, Korea, Republic of; 3Department of Radiology, Kyunghee University Medical Center, Seoul, Korea, Republic of; 4Gachon University of Medicine and Science, Incheon, Korea, Republic of; 5Department of Psychiatry, The Catholic University of Korea, Seoul, Korea, Republic of


Until recently, no data are available about the behavioral and simultaneous non-invasive measurements of neurochemial responses following antidepressant treatment in mice FST model. In this study, in vivo 1H-MRS at 9.4 T was used to examine the effects of desipramine (DMI) pretreatment on behavioral and regional neurocheimal responses of C57BL/6 mice brain. We found significant behavioral changes as well as metabolic alterations of glutamate and myo-inositol by the DMI pretreatment. Our results suggest that glutamatergic activity and glial cell dysfunction contribute to pathophysiological mechanisms underlying depression and that modulation of synaptic neurotransmitter concentrations represent invaluable targets for antidepressant drug development.